Chapter 126

Episode 126

Jeong In-ho knew very well that he could not be a good person.

There was something his parents asked me for every day. Be a good boy. Become my son who listens well and doesn’t break down inside. That wish, too desperate to be called brainwashing, consumed Jeong In-ho’s entire childhood.

But that wasn’t why he started yearning for goodness. Rather than a wish that had been ripped open and crumpled in my ears, it was closer to a longing that was engraved in me because I knew I couldn’t have it. I did it because I was sure I would never have it in my life.

But what was the shock when I saw that part of the person I despised?

“There was such fruit.”

“It’s a fruit that resembles a glass bead... and has a very strong scent.”

Jeong In-ho glanced at the detective who was listening to me and continued speaking with a straight smile on his face.

“It wasn’t poisonous even if I ate it.”

“I guess that means it doesn’t look like something that would happen in reality.”

“Ah, detective, I guess you found something too?”

“We also discovered something in this lake... that is, a small lake. “We have to go deeper.”

“Exactly which side of the bridge is it?”

While talking, Jeong In-ho felt uncomfortable inside.

‘...Am I still suspicious?’

Jeong In-ho, who had experienced a future that has now disappeared, knew what suspicions Hong Gyeong-jun had about me. He must have been thinking that the serial killer that police officer Kim Yeon-woo had seen might be him.

But I couldn’t say to that, ‘I’m not the criminal you’re looking for.’ Even though they had a serious conversation ‘in the past’ because they couldn’t stand the absurdity, Detective Hong Gyeong-jun couldn’t trust Jeong In-ho in the end. To be honest, he was not a great person that anyone could trust.

How absurd it was when he looked at his deceased colleagues, including Kang Min-ah, with a look that seemed to ask if Jung In-ho had murdered them. If Jeong In-ho had been a little more distracted, he might have ripped his collar.

“Now that I think about it, it seems like Jeong In-ho knows that kid from yesterday.”

“....”

“Can you tell me a story?”

Yeah, I hated this.

“...Probably the manager told me.”

Even as he said that, Jeong In-ho guessed Hong Gyeong-jun’s intentions. Perhaps they wanted to check whether it was exactly the same as the testimony that Director Lee Jae-heon gave to Hong Gyeong-jun. He was so suspicious that it was annoying.

And as expected, Hong Gyeong-jun nodded.

“I heard that Jaeheon Lee was not in good condition at the time. “I want to hear testimony in a calmer state.”

“You can do that.”

Jeong In-ho continued speaking while maintaining his usual smile.

“Whenever I have time, I go for a walk around the neighborhood. “I’m just going to run a few laps...”

The story didn’t get very long. Hong Gyeong-jun was quite cautious and calm for a person who was very suspicious, so he did not interrupt him and even nodded and agreed with him occasionally. Even if the situation wasn’t like this, Hong Gyeong-jun would have been a pretty good listener.

Jeong In-ho described the situation at the time and calmly told the story.

“...The manager suddenly asked me to leave the position. I followed him out of the room, talked for a bit, and then parted ways. “And we met again the next day when I went to work.”

“....”

“This is all I know about the child I saw then.”

Hong Gyeong-jun nodded his head slightly and tapped his fingers. I don’t know if he knew it but couldn’t change it, or if it was a habit he hadn’t noticed before, but it told me that he was in quite a bit of trouble.

He stopped his fingers and opened his mouth.

“You are definitely an unusual person.”

“...Who are you talking about?”

“Jaeheon Lee and Inho Jeong.”

After listening to Hong Gyeong-jun’s words, Jeong In-ho suddenly realized one thing.

“The manager is a special person.”

This suspicious detective trusted Director Lee Jae-heon and no one else.

‘why?’

Why Lee Jae-heon?

In-ho Jeong was sure that if he suspected anyone, it would definitely be Director Jae-heon Lee. Even if you exclude the self-interest that I have personally accumulated up until now, I could not help but think that way.

“Thank you for your concern.”

Yoon Garam, who must have felt uncomfortable, simply curled his lips and turned around. I vaguely realized that calling Noh Yeon-seok and Kang Min-ah was probably due to exertion of strength when pulling out the fish trap.

Jeong In-ho quietly looked at her back.

“....”

Suddenly, it occurred to me that a familiar spark seemed to be sparking in Yoon Garam’s steps.

It resembled the green plant that caught Manager Lee Jae-heon’s ankle at the flower shop. A self-destructive obsession that is so extreme that it burns itself out because it does not want to let go. It resembled the bonfire she always looked at.

Jeong In-ho knows that it is broken.

“....”

“Mr. Jeong In-ho, shall we go together?”

“...Of course.”

But Yoon Garam loved it....

“On the way, I also saw the monster that was said to have eaten Ha Seongyoon’s eyes.”

“Oh my gosh, your words have become harsh. “Are you tired?”

Ha Seong-yoon just smiled with his eyes closed, and it looked very similar to Yoon Gar-ram. Perhaps she learned that smile from Ha Seong-yoon.

Because that person admires you.

“Who is that thanks to?”

Because what you admire means you want to be like them.

Jeong In-ho was able to fully understand her.

“Aha, it looks like you’ve thought about what I said.”

“I can’t say no.”

A laugh came out.

It seemed like everyone had gone crazy. And in order to somehow survive while going crazy, you have to hold on to something, and even if that is ridiculous fanaticism, people become desperate.

Hong Gyeong-jun was like that, Yoon Garam was like that, and...

“I guess I’m crazy.”

Inho Jeong was like that.

Jaeheon Lee is not a person you can trust. Even though believing this even though he knew it was inefficient, as he said, in the end, doesn’t Jung In-ho believe him? The opponent is a half-monster who can even kill people and turn them into pieces of meat.

So this is fanaticism. It was a crazy act that was of no benefit to anyone, like comforting myself by praying to a god that didn’t exist.

In-ho Jeong believes in Jae-heon Lee.

“I think so.”

“until when?”

“I don’t know, but...”

If he’s alive, I think we’re not dead.

“I feel like shit.”

I don’t have to survive alone.

Even though Jeong In-ho realized that this was a ridiculous conclusion and fanaticism, he could not go back. At least Lee Jae-heon himself, if he were still alive, did not try to save them somehow. I didn’t think my faith would be so poor.

That’s how much Jung In-ho didn’t want to survive alone. I didn’t want to end up dying alone, looking at the pure white sky, in a slaughterhouse where I didn’t know when or who to kill, in a relationship where distrust and hatred were rampant. It was an absolutely terrible thing.

I didn’t want to do that.

“....”

“...I have to save that person.”

“how?”

“Somehow.”

It’s funny.

I tried to find out the cause of Hong Gyeong-jun’s irrational thinking, but in the end, all I found was his own flaws. Even after recognizing them, he couldn’t fix them.

I felt really crazy.

(Continued in the next part)